Morgan Stanley no longer remains on the sidelines: the Wall Street giant with a $9.3 trillion scale officially bets on crypto assets

January 28 News, as Wall Street’s attitude towards digital assets continues to soften, Morgan Stanley is shifting from “关注加密货币” to “深度参与,” a change seen as an important signal of the structural shift in the traditional financial system. This investment bank, managing assets worth up to $9.3 trillion, is officially incorporating digital assets into its core business scope.

Recently, Morgan Stanley appointed Amy Oldenburg as Head of Digital Asset Strategy, responsible for product design, cross-department collaboration, external partnerships, and trading deployment. This personnel adjustment is viewed as a key signal that the company is moving digital assets from research to execution. Meanwhile, regulated Bitcoin-related investment products have been launched on its internal platform, indicating that the compliance channels for managing trillions of dollars in assets have been opened.

Financial journalist Frank Chaparo pointed out that 2026 may become the year of deep integration between digital assets and institutional capital. In response, Morgan Stanley continues to expand digital asset-related positions and accelerate internal capacity building, while Oldenburg also emphasized the importance of “asset control” and compliance structures under the background of institutional participation.

A review of the path shows that this shift is not a radical leap. In 2024, the company only allowed advisors to introduce restricted crypto products to some high-net-worth clients; by 2025, related restrictions were significantly relaxed, with more wealth management clients included in the allocation scope. Bitcoin began to be defined as a “digital hedge tool” in asset portfolios and was recommended to occupy a certain proportion in high-risk tolerance portfolios.

By 2026, Morgan Stanley’s actions further escalated, not only advancing plans for direct crypto asset trading but also submitting multiple applications for spot crypto funds to U.S. regulators, covering core networks such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, aiming to upgrade from a simple distributor to a platform integrating product issuance and trading.

This trend is not an isolated case. Data shows that among leading banks in the U.S., most institutions are involved in Bitcoin-related services, including trading, custody, and investment allocation. For Morgan Stanley, moving from observation to deep participation reflects a revaluation of the long-term value of digital assets.

Although the market still focuses on its execution efficiency and talent structure, it is certain that as large financial institutions continue to increase their involvement, digital assets are moving from marginal allocation to the core of institutional asset frameworks. 2026 may become a key year for the true “alignment” of traditional financial systems and the crypto market.